Business speaker to address changes in banking industry

March 24, 2009

KALAMAZOO--James H. Duncan Sr., retired chairman and CEO of First National Financial Corp., will discuss "Banking's Changing Face: A Former CEO's Insights on Growth, Credit Cards and Careers" at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, on the Western Michigan University campus in Kalamazoo.

The free, public talk will be held in Schneider Hall and is part of the 2008-09 Haworth College of Business Distinguished Speaker Series. A question-and-answer period and reception in Duncan's honor will follow the presentation.

Duncan, who retired from First National Financial Corp. in 1985, was instrumental in establishing the nation's first interchange system--now MasterCard--as well as the credit card model used by Bank of America for BankAmericard--now Visa.

A WMU student from 1945 to 1950, Duncan began his professional career at First National Bank of Kalamazoo, which became First of America Bank and now is PNC.

During his time in banking, he was the founding secretary and later president of the National Charge Account Bankers Association, a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, vice president of the board of directors for the American Bankers Association and president of the Michigan Bankers Association.

Duncan is a director emeritus of the WMU Foundation and a former Kalamazoo College trustee. Now a resident of Santa Fe, N.M., he served on the board of directors of the Community Bank of Santa Fe from 2000 to 2008. WMU recognized Duncan's professional accomplishments and support of the University by granting him an Honorary Doctor of Law degree in 1982 and a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983.

Those planning to attend the upcoming Distinguished Speaker Series talk are encouraged to register by March 27. To register, contact the dean's office in the Haworth College of Business at monique.haley@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5050.